New Thor 3 and Guardians of the Galaxy 2 Photos Go Behind the Action

Earlier today, Marvel released Doctor Strange on Digital HD, which includes a sneak peek at the other movies coming up in the Marvel Phase 3 lineup. Several images have surfaced from this preview, giving fans new glimpses at both of the studio's 2017 entries into the MCU, Guardians of the Galaxy 2 (May 5, 2017) and Thor: Ragnarok (November 3, 2017). These photos set up some interesting possibilities for the plot of Thor: Ragnarok, while hinting at a long-awaited romance in Guardians of the Galaxy 2.

Last month, we got the first official Thor: Ragnarok photo, along with the first synopsis, which confirmed a number of story details that had been swirling around the movie. These latest photos, courtesy of MCU Exchange, tease a new species of aliens that will be featured in the sequel, along with a hint that the long-rumored villain Surtur may finally surface in the MCU. While we don't know anything about the aliens, they are much more colorful than anything we've seen on Asgard, with some speculating that they may be connected to The Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum).

As for Surtur, we don't get any confirmation that this demonic villain will make an appearance here, but the large horns seen on the back of Chris Hemsworth's costume has some speculating that it may be connected to the Surtur, a fire demon native to the extradimensional plane of Muspelhei, land of the fire demons, which is one of the nine worlds in Norse mythology. There had been rumors in the past that Surtur would surface in Thor: Ragnarok, and while this intriguing photo certainly isn't a confirmation of Surtur's involvement, perhaps we'll learn more when the first trailer surfaces. Another interesting image shows Thor with his trusty hammer Mjolnir, which is rumored to be destroyed in this movie, using it on some sort of zombie creature.

As for the Guardians 2 photos, they don't reveal too much, except for one image that shows Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) and Gamora (Zoe Saldana) in a close embrace, possibly before their first kiss. You may recall that in the first trailer, there was a scene where the overtly-literal Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista) tells Star-Lord that he just needs to find someone pathetic, like him. This obviously sets up that a romance between Star-Lord and Gamora, who literally come from different worlds, isn't likely, but this photo may give hope to those who want to see Star-Lord and Gamora become a couple.

While we have already seen a few different trailers and other pieces of footage from Guardians of the Galaxy 2, in theaters May 5, we haven't seen much at all from Thor: Ragnarok, but that's already changing. Earlier today we showed you even more pieces of concept art from this superhero sequel, in theaters November 3, along with a new video that reunites Thor with his roommate Daryl. Take a look at all of these new images from both Marvel adventures.